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19 April 2026

Tag: Ofsted

Alleged illegal school boss claims he was following DfE guidance

The director of a west London learning centre accused of running an illegal school has claimed he was following Department for Education guidance when he decided not to register his institution. Nacerdine Talbi, 47, the sole director of the Al-Istiqamah Learning Centre in Ealing, west London, told Westminster Magistrates court today that he believed he […]

Emphasis of Ofsted inspection to shift from classroom

The emphasis of Ofsted inspections will “shift up the management structure”, but lesson observations will continue because teachers want them, Amanda Spielman has said. The chief inspector of schools told Schools Week that although she wasn’t pledging “in absolute terms” that inspectors will spend less time in lessons, schools should see the “weighting” of involvement […]

The new Ofsted framework has the potential to transform workload

Ofsted’s new curriculum framework has the potential to transform workload and bring education back to where it should be. Exam grades and test results are hugely important – they are a mark of knowledge and achievement that young people can use as the collateral to win university places, secure apprenticeships and get great jobs. Yet […]

Teacher drop-outs rise in every subject, and 8 more workforce findings

The rate of teachers dropping out of the classroom increased for every single subject between 2015 and last year, new figures show. The Department for Education has published its latest analysis of data on teacher supply, retention and mobility. The analysis is published twice a year. Officials analysed the school workforce census data and initial teacher […]

Ofsted considers tougher inspection regime for secure training centres

Ofsted wants to change the way it inspects secure training centres, which educate young offenders up to the age of 17. Run by private companies, the centres provide young people with 30 hours of education and training a week, following a school-day timetable. There are currently three secure training centres across the country, but none […]

Ofsted DOES care about the early years

There is much more to Ofsted’s engagement with the early years sector than the chief inspector’s visits to individual providers, argues Gill Jones At Ofsted, we know it’s imperative that young children get off to a good start when they begin primary school. Once they’re behind, it’s very difficult for them to catch up later. […]

Ofsted requires improvement – but how do we get there?

Ofsted’s name is mud this week. Amanda Spielman’s speech at last week’s Festival of Education went down like a lead balloon after she announced that grades for overall school effectiveness are “not effort grades”. Then she suggested that schools in white working class areas get lower grades partly because local families may not have the […]

Still no sign of the delayed ‘healthy schools’ rating scheme

The government still doesn’t know when proposals for a ‘healthy schools’ rating scheme will come to fruition, 10 months after it was supposed to start in primary schools. The plan was first mooted in the government’s child obesity action plan in 2016, and it was supposed to be up and running in schools by last […]